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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Chrissy Strini Becomes Ole Miss Soccer's First All-American
12/31/2005 | Soccer
Dec. 31, 2005
OXFORD, Miss. - Sophomore midfielder Chrissy Strini has been named an honorable mention All-America selection by Soccer Buzz, one of the country's premier women's soccer publications, becoming Ole Miss Soccer's first All-American.
A native of Cordova, Tenn., Strini tied for the team lead with seven goals and led Ole Miss and tied for the SEC title with seven assists on the year.
"Chrissy is a person who deserved any awards she got this year," said Ole Miss head coach Steve Holeman. "She worked very hard to get where she is at. It's really amazing how far she has come - to come off the bench last year and then be an All-American this year. She's a very unselfish person. I'm sure she is excited, but this will also motivate her to work even harder. It definitely puts her in good company."
Midfielder Jennifer Hance and defender Christine Breaux were honored as second team and third team Freshman All-America picks, respectively, as Soccer Buzz released its national and regional awards.
Ole Miss was one of nine Division I programs which had three or more players named to one of the four All-America teams and first three Freshman All-America squads, including National Champion Portland, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Penn State, UCLA, Florida State, Virginia and Santa Clara. There are 308 total Division I women's soccer programs.
"To have three All-Americans in one year is great for our program," Holeman added. "I'm proud of all three of them. It's an awesome reward for all the hard work they put in this year."
In regional honors, Strini was recognized as a member of the All-Central Region first team, while Hance earned second-team honors and Breaux third-team accolades. Both freshmen were named to the Central Region All-Freshman squad.
The awards were not handed out to players only, as Holeman was rewarded for his team's success by being picked as the Central Region's runner-up for Coach of the Year after Ole Miss posted a 14-5-2 season record and won its third SEC Championship and earned the program's third trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Hance, the SEC's Freshman of the Year, was also honored recently by Soccer America as a second team Freshman All-America selection. She and Breaux become Ole Miss' second and third Freshman All-America honorees, after Kelly Renie earned first-team accolades in 2002.